Saturday, May 10, 2014

White Collar Freedom; What Is It All About?

Six months ago:

There I was; standing tall in a shirt and dress pants - in front of the ATM machine. I had one and a half weeks to go before payday and I was debating with myself on the actual amount of money I have left in my account.

So I slid the card in, jabbed the numeric keypad with my 6-digit PIN and selected 'Balance Enquiry'.

Tactless and brutal as a lifeless machine can be, it displayed my account balance on its scratched and fogged screen - completely disregarding any feelings that I may have. The pixelated screen rudely displayed:

Available balance: $72.00

With 13 more days before the paycheck arrives, I knew I would have to skip a couple of meals to make ends meet. To add on to the misery, there was a $4,500 debt looming in the background.

Realisation struck hard.

I was living from paycheck-to-paycheck.

***

Today, as I am writing, there are 4 digits in my account - I have enough stashed up to last me a few months of unemployment - some money in a brokerage account and ZERO debt.

Yes, I obliterated that soul-sucking debt mercilessly, without batting an eyelid.

Living from paycheck-to-paycheck is only the crust of the pie. It held a concoction of resentment and discontentment inside of it - one so vile, that it would guarantee a life of corporate monotony. Spending every dime I make and trying to keep up with the joneses represented a life bound by chains; like a prisoner in Plato's Cave.

The resolve was simple but difficult to execute - earn more, spend less, kill the debt monster and build a bucket system. This is not rocket science, but it's no doubt a psychological warfare. If you have missed out on the journey so far, here are some of the most popular posts to date: